Kicking off the New Year by returning to an unfinished picture. I bet I’m not alone in having a stack of these in the studio!
Time and mood definitely change my perception of an artwork. I’d started this painting of the Duver beach on the Isle of Wight with quick fluid strokes and a large brush, but it needed a little something to draw the eye in.
Oil on canvas 42.5 x 30cm
A year of exploration, exasperation and inspiration in paint! Learning and mistakes in equal measure - some paintings seem to flow from the paintbrush, others provoke constant questions and seem impossible to ‘finish’. The last painting on this reel is just that (unfinished!) so as big a part of the journey as any others.n
Happy 2023 everyone - hoping for a brighter more peaceful year for everyone xx
The heavy snowfall left us knee deep overnight and lasted a week. I love the transformation it brings, changing every familiar view into a muffled jumble of differently coloured whites, almost exaggerating through contrast where the small bits of light fall.
Happy almost white Christmas everyone!
Oil on canvas 80 x 60cm
For sale in Gallery sale
Really excited to have my first solo exhibition lined up next April.
Thinking about what to put in it and couldn’t think of a better way than laying out loads of paintings in the lounge! Thank you to brilliant and wise Desmond Healy (IG-@desmondhealy.art) for coming to take a look, and giving me a beginner’s guide to curation. Apparently I don’t get to put everything I’ve ever painted up!
The exhibition isn’t for a while so I have lots of time to pick my favourites and perhaps create a few more.
It’ll be in the Upper Gallery of Lauderdale House in Highgate running 27th April - 23rd May with a private view on the 26th. More details nearer the time.
Sleep doesn’t come easy in our house. It seems ironic that I’ve spent a particularly sleepless week painting this!
Maybe for that reason, I love the physical abandon that comes with deep sleep…a kind of suspension of a person at their least conscious?
(NB painting done with permission of sleeper! Although he did insist his 2nd favourite ted be added at the last moment so he didn’t feel left out).
For any art nerds out there I’m a bit late to the party but this is my first go at water soluble oils. Love the way they can be used as textured oil or acrylic/almost watercolour. Lots of potential.
We had lunch in a cosy dark cafe in Hampstead. Next to us sat an elderly woman dining alone with a huge bowl of pasta and a glass of wine. She was extremely frail and small, padded by cushions and clothes - the effort of each mouthful was palpable. But this meal seemed ritualistic, almost sacred, and I found it deeply moving. Her choice to enjoy a sensory experience despite the obvious challenges of old age was inspiring.
Oil on canvas 76x51cm
For sale in Gallery Sale
I seem to be on a sort of mission with landscapes. I’m so bowled over by the beauty of what I see in reality that no matter what I put down, no painting comes close to measuring up to that feeling.
When I think of other artists’ work that get closer it’s always less naturalistic, more ‘painterly’ if not completely abstract.
So here’s the latest small step in my quest - this time exploring an autumn scene using palette knife, scratching and brush on a bright pink background.
Oil on canvas 42.5 x 30 cm
For sale in Gallery Sale
Another go at autumn had to be done, but this time in my warm studio without an umbrella lodged down the front of my anorak!
Oil on canvas 30 x 42.5cm
For sale in Gallery Sale
I’d planned to paint the autumn colours at Hampstead Heath with my friend Morag. We refused to let the rain stop us but did get wet in the process..as did our pictures. My drawing is very blotchy, so instead here’s a pic of the determined art making in action!
A year ago my dad had a dream he was standing on the stairs in his house, looking in a long mirror next to a painting of his great(x3?) grandfather. He asked me to paint it.
In keeping with Dad’s fascination with the past, this became a painting of layers and time. His study of genealogy crept in as bits of the family tree I wrote for him when I was young. The wallpaper from his house grew over parts of the image, all but obscuring the mirror. He mentioned the artists reflection in Velazquez’s ‘Las Meninas’, so in a nod to the great work, I snuck myself in, ghost style as I painted him.
Slideshow of the many stages below. It was quite a journey!
Oil on canvas 150 x 100cm
No matter how sunny it is outside I keep coming back to stormy skies! I’ve now painted this scene 3 times - I love the scale, and the contrast between nature and the tiny boat. Also the hopefulness of the blue sky appearing.
Oil on canvas 76.5 x 51 x 4cm
A while back. I went to the private view of the Arts Depot Spring Arts and Crafts showcase where my painting Maldon clouds was exhibited. I had a great time meeting local artists and makers and seeing their work.
I had a lovely time painting with a group of friends from Hampstead School of Art on Hampstead Heath. We sat in front of Henry Moore’s statue looking across the lake with the top of Highgate peeking through.
I had a go at acrylics on a smaller canvas board which seemed to lead to a tighter more illustrative style.
Acrylic on canvas 30 x 22.5cm
Fantastic to see a selection of my artworks hanging together @emscoffeelondon and a couple at @potterspantry4 .
I’m thinking I might be working up to my first exhibition. If you know of a gallery that might fit, please shout as I’m still new to all this. Em’s in Whetstone and Potters Pantry in New Barnet do the BEST coffee!
I was so distracted by this flash of colour I had to stop the car and take a look. Crocuses and daffodils planted closely together in massive groups seemed audacious against the fading winter background.
Oil on canvas 30 x 42.5cm. Part of gallery sale.
Winter morning - I took a walk through the crunchy frost before the sun melted it away and changed the landscapes colours.
Oil on canvas 60 x 42cm £300
Frost melting - walking home, the sun had melted most of the frost away but purple pockets remained resisting its heat.
Oil on canvas 60 x 42cm £300
I’m super excited to be presenting some se.lected artwork as prints, the perfect Christmas pressie. Check out my new Prints page
I’m delighted to open my Christmas sale on the first of the month with 10% off all artwork in my artwork sale! Get shopping!
I’m delighted to launch my Christmas artwork sale with 10% off everything on the artwork page! I’m also having a go at creating prints of some of my work. Check out the Prints page or get in touch if there’s a picture not up there you’d like as a print.
My son spontaneously jumped into the Welsh sea on a very non beach day. The sky darkened dramatically and we watched as it rolled with the waves towards us.
Oil paint on canvas 51 x 40.5cm
£200
